Numbers 19–22

19TH CHAPTER

Water That Makes Israel Clean After Someone Dies

¹The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²“This is what the Lord’s teachings have commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red cow that is perfect, with no defects. Also, it must never have worn a yoke.^a3Give it to the priest Eleazar. It must be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. ⁴The priest Eleazar will take some of the blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. ⁵Then the entire cow (the skin, meat, blood, and excrement) will be burned while he watches. ⁶The priest will take some cedar wood, a hyssop sprig, and some red yarn and throw them onto the burning cow. ⁷The priest must then wash his clothes and his body. After that, he may go into the camp. But he will be unclean^buntil evening. ⁸The person who burned the calf must also wash his clothes and his body. He, too, will be unclean until evening. 

⁹“A man who is clean^cwill collect the ashes from the cow and put them in a clean place outside the camp. They will be kept by the community of Israel and used in the water that takes away uncleanness. The cow is an offering for sin. ¹⁰The person who collected the ashes from the cow must also wash his clothes. He will be unclean until evening. This will be a permanent law for the Israelites and for the foreigners who live with them. 

¹¹“Whoever touches the dead body of any human being will be unclean for seven days. ¹²The unclean person must use this water on the third day and the seventh day to take away his sin. Then he will be clean. But if he doesn’t use this water on the third day and the seventh day, he will not be clean. ¹³Whoever touches the dead body of a human being and doesn’t use this water to take away his sin makes the Lord’s tent unclean. That person must be excluded from Israel, because the water that takes away uncleanness wasn’t sprinkled on him. He is unclean; his uncleanness stays with him. 

¹⁴“These are your instructions for when a person dies in a tent: Everyone who goes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent will be unclean for seven days. ¹⁵Every container without a lid fastened on it is unclean. 

¹⁶“Whoever is outdoors and touches someone who was killed or has died naturally or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave will be unclean for seven days. 

¹⁷“⸤This is what you must do⸥ for people who become unclean from touching a dead body. Put some of the ashes from the red cow that was burned as an offering for sin into a container. Then pour fresh water on them. ¹⁸A person who is clean will take a sprig of hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and all the people who were in the tent ⸤with the dead body⸥. He must also sprinkle any person who has touched a human bone or a grave and any person who has touched someone who has been killed or who has died naturally. ¹⁹A person who is clean will sprinkle these types of unclean people on the third day and the seventh day. On the seventh day the clean person will finish taking away their sins. Then they must wash their clothes and bodies, and in the evening they will be clean. ²⁰But if the person who becomes unclean doesn’t have his sin taken away, that person must be excluded from the assembly. He has made the holy place of the Lord unclean. The water to take away uncleanness wasn’t sprinkled on him. He is unclean. ²¹This will be a permanent law for them. 

“Whoever sprinkles the water to take away uncleanness must wash his clothes. And whoever touches this water will be unclean until evening. ²²Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.” 

20TH CHAPTER

Water from the Rock

¹In the first month the whole community of Israel came into the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there. 

²Since the community was without water, they came together to confront Moses and Aaron. ³The people complained to Moses and said, “If only we had died when the other Israelites died in the Lord’s presence! ⁴Did you bring the Lord’s assembly into this desert just to have us and our animals die here? ⁵Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us into this terrible place? This is no place to plant crops. Even figs, grapes, and pomegranates won’t grow here. And there’s no water to drink!” 

⁶Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting. Immediately, they bowed with their faces touching the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 

⁷The Lord said to Moses, ⁸“Take your staff, then you and your brother Aaron gather the community. Right before their eyes, tell the rock to give up its water. In this way you will give the community water from the rock for them and their animals to drink.” 

⁹Moses took his staff out of ⸤the tent in⸥ the Lord’s presence as he had been commanded. ¹⁰Then Moses and Aaron assembled the community in front of the rock and said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring water out of this rock for you?” ¹¹Moses raised his hand and hit the rock twice with the staff. Water came pouring out, and all the people and their animals drank. 

¹²But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “You didn’t trust me! You didn’t show the Israelites how holy I am! So you will not bring this congregation into the land I’m giving them.” 

¹³This was the oasis of Meribah ^[Complaining^[, where the Israelites complained about the Lord and where he showed them he was holy. 

Edom Refuses to Allow Israel to Pass through Its Territory

¹⁴Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. He said, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardships we’ve had. ¹⁵Our ancestors went to Egypt, and we lived there for many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors. ¹⁶When we cried out to the Lord, he heard us, sent a messenger, and brought us out of Egypt. 

“Now we’re here in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷Please let us go through your country. We won’t go through any of your fields or vineyards, or drink any of the water from your wells. We’ll stay on the king’s highway and never leave it until we’ve passed through your territory.” 

¹⁸But the Edomites answered, “You may not pass through our country. If you try, we’ll come out and attack you.” 

¹⁹The Israelites replied, “We’ll stay on the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we’ll pay for it. We want to pass through on foot. That’s all.” 

²⁰But the Edomites said, “You may not pass through.” Then they came out and attacked with many well-armed troops. ²¹Since the Edomites refused to let Israel go through their territory, the Israelites turned around and went a different way. 

Aaron’s Death

²²The whole community of Israel left Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. ²³At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁴“Aaron must now join his ancestors ⸤in death⸥, since he cannot enter the land I’m giving the Israelites. This is because you both rebelled against my command at the oasis of Meribah. ²⁵Bring Aaron and his son Eleazar up on Mount Hor. ²⁶Take off Aaron’s priestly clothes, and put them on his son Eleazar. Then Aaron will die there and join ⸤his ancestors⸥.” 

²⁷Moses did as the Lord commanded. The whole community saw them go up on Mount Hor. ²⁸Moses took off Aaron’s priestly clothes and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹The whole community saw that Aaron had died, and all the Israelites mourned for Aaron 30 days. 

21ST CHAPTER

The King of Arad Is Defeated

¹When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were coming on the road to Atharim, he fought them and took some of them as prisoners. ²Then the Israelites made this vow to the Lord: “If you will hand these people over to us, we’ll destroy their cities because you’ve claimed them.” ³The Lord listened to the Israelites and handed the Canaanites over to them. They destroyed the Canaanites and their cities. So they called the place Hormah ^[Claimed for Destruction^[. 

The Bronze Snake

⁴Then they moved from Mount Hor, following the road that goes to the Red Sea, in order to get around Edom. The people became impatient on the trip ⁵and criticized God and Moses. They said, “Why did you make us leave Egypt—just to let us die in the desert? There’s no bread or water, and we can’t stand this awful food!” 

⁶So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people. They bit the people, and many of the Israelites died. ⁷The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we criticized the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 

⁸The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake, and put it on a pole. Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” ⁹So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. People looked at the bronze snake after they were bitten, and they lived.^a

Israel Travels Past Edom to Moab

¹⁰The Israelites moved and set up camp at Oboth. ¹¹Next they moved from Oboth and set up camp at Iye Abarim in the desert west of Moab. ¹²From there they moved and set up camp at the Zered River. ¹³They moved from there and set up camp on the other side of the Arnon Valley in the desert that extends into Amorite territory. (The Arnon Valley is the border between Moab and the Amorites.) ¹⁴This is how it’s described in the Book of the Wars of the Lord: 

“… Waheb in Suphah and the valleys, 

¹⁵Arnon and the slopes of the valleys 

that go down to the site of Ar 

and lie along the border of Moab.…” 

¹⁶From there they went to Beer ^[Well^[. This is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people, and I will give them water.” ¹⁷Then Israel sang this song about the well: 

“Make your water spring up! 

Sing to the well, 

¹⁸the well dug by princes, 

dug out by the nobles of the people 

with their scepters and…